Pig * * *

Pig is peculiar, and for that reason most critics seem to think it's good. I  guess it's because there is so much stuff out there which is predictable. I mean, this film is getting a big rap.

Set in Oregon, we start off in the cold damp woodlands where a hermit called Robin, (Nicolas Cage) lives with a pig.  The pig is a truffle hunter.  Truffles are gold as far as food is concerned, and this is how the hermit makes his living. He doesn't want money though. He just asks the buyer to bring groceries. The buyer is a younger man with aspirations.  Smug and unlikeable at first, he slowly wins our sympathy.

Robin and his Babe

We catch on that despite his crude living conditions Robin can still knock up a hell of a meal for himself. We also catch on that his withdrawal from the world is motivated by grief. 

Then someone steals his pig. The guy who he buys truffles off reluctantly takes Rob to the city to look for said Pig. Robin is looking like he's been in the wars and his appearance isn't about to improve. 

They follow a trail that leads him to people from Robin's past, most of whom are in awe when they realise who Robin is.  He has an intimidating reputation and he doesn't mind using it to get his pig back. It's not so much about the physical violence he might dispense as knowledge of peoples history.  In his time Robin was a Chef of incomparable skill and reputation. 

As Robin searches for his Pig he is confronted by his past and the reason for his grief. 

Pig romanticizes (or condemns) the whole restaurant / food industry and suggests there is some weird going ons amongst it's members. At one time I thought it was going to be a remake of Fight Club.

Pig is an interesting film.  I didn't regret seeing it but I found it a bit undercooked.  (I probably won't be the only one to come up with that smarty pants line).